Last year, the Rams front 4 was killer. The defense amassed 43 sacks improving from 25 in 2009. Fred Robbins was a pleasant surprise having his best season as a pro. He had 28 tackles, 6 sacks, and 1 forced fumble. He played lights out football plugging gaps and stopping runs for short gains. James Hall also had a terrific season. Both guys are veterans and may not have seasons like this again. Chris Long exploded last year and is on the verge of a pro bowl. Robert Quinn was an excellent draft choice. Lots of people think we need to pursue a defensive tackle in free agency to play alongside Robbins. Clifton Ryan was on IR because of migraines and guys like Gary Gibson, Darell Scott, and Jermelle Cudjo aren't going to cut it.

Barry Cofield - Cofield is a very intriguing option. He is very familiar with Spag's defense and is good friends with Robbins. I am sure Robbins will contact Cofield and try to persuade him to make his way over to St. Louis. He is young, in his prime, and a terrific player. He is great at stopping the run. He can also collapse the pocket. A front four containing Long, Cofield, Robbins, and Hall/Quinn would be absolutely terrifying for the opposing quarterback. I'd love to see us heavily pursue Cofield.

Brandon Mebane - Mebane may not have the best numbers, though he is very productive. Stealing him from a division rival would be terrific. He has been the key cog to their defensive line and would fit in perfectly here. He is very young only being in the league for 4 years and is entering his prime. He is very solid at plugging holes and stopping runs making him very valuable. He would be cheaper than Cofield though this defensive line could use either of these young talented players.

Ken Flajole's and Spag's defense is on the rise. I feel we are one talented outside linebacker and defensive tackle away from being a top 5 defense. They have totally changed the culture around here and need to keep building. One positive, we are definently on our way up.

-07-22-2011

GROUND DOG 39

Re: Should the Rams target a defensive tackle in free agency?

YEAH, if the price is right and the player is a good fit. OG, DT, SAFETY, OLB, RB are all major needs so who knows? Im hoping DeSpags will go back to basics and spend money on our lines. After all the lines are the bedrock for playing good Spags type football.?

-07-22-2011

sjacksonrules

Re: Should the Rams target a defensive tackle in free agency?

If we get coefield we might be banned for a unfair advantage. We have so many pieces to a line.

-07-22-2011

HUbison

Re: Should the Rams target a defensive tackle in free agency?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjacksonrules

If we get coefield we might be banned for a unfair advantage. We have so many pieces to a line.

But as you and I both know, that was EXACTLY Spags' M.O. with the Giants. That's what brought down the "Greatest Team of All-Time" in the Super Bowl.

Barry Cofield - Cofield is a very intriguing option. He is very familiar with Spag's defense and is good friends with Robbins. I am sure Robbins will contact Cofield and try to persuade him to make his way over to St. Louis. He is young, in his prime, and a terrific player. He is great at stopping the run. He can also collapse the pocket. A front four containing Long, Cofield, Robbins, and Hall/Quinn would be absolutely terrifying for the opposing quarterback. I'd love to see us heavily pursue Cofield.

Is hands down my vote, scheme/system, ability and cost which is all around the BEST BANG for our buck. We shall see when the offseason comes and FA but I think this is a no brainer.

-07-23-2011

sjacksonrules

Re: Should the Rams target a defensive tackle in free agency?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HUbison

But as you and I both know, that was EXACTLY Spags' M.O. with the Giants. That's what brought down the "Greatest Team of All-Time" in the Super Bowl.

We were leading the league in sacks at one point. Now we just added a speed rusher. How is that fair to other teams lol.

People are talking about the lions d line cause they added fairley but don't overlook our line for one second. I can't wait to see what Quinn can do and if we can add coefield I would almost say this would be a making of a fearsome foursome 2.0.

Can't wait.

-07-23-2011

Nick

Re: Should the Rams target a defensive tackle in free agency?

Cofield makes all the sense in the world. Hopefully both sides are able to make it happen.

-07-24-2011

TekeRam

Re: Should the Rams target a defensive tackle in free agency?

This is how I see the situation.

Call me a disciple of Andy Reid if you will, which Spags is, by the way, but Andy always builds his team from the inside out. Look at their first round pick this year, a 26 year old offensive guard. Good line play sets up everything else. On offense, you need the line to either get the push for the run game, or to hold their ground till the QB dumps the ball off. On defense, they need to blow up plays and can make the rest of the team look really good or really bad.

So, should we target one of those two tackles? Absolutely. Right now we have two really good players behind our line, Laurinaitis and Bartell. With a dominant line that can blow up runs, JL will rack up the tackles and if they can get a quick pass rush, our secondary will look a whole lot better.

Another name I want to float out there is Amobe Okoye. He came into the league at 19 as an early 1st round pick and has been rather unspectacular for the Texans so far. He's expected to get cut. He's only 22 or maybe 23 now, practically the age of a rookie. We could probably get him for a vet minimum with incentives contract because he's not shown much. With a great line in front of him to learn from and a really good line coach in Spags, should we roll the dice?

-07-24-2011

Richbert88

Re: Should the Rams target a defensive tackle in free agency?

I like the Okoye idea. Coefield is my initial choice.

I like the idea of 'stressing' the opposing OL and QB. This helps the second level of defense. Much like 'stressing' the defense in McD's initial statements.

And lets add Fletcher's name to the decent players at the second level.

-07-24-2011

sjacksonrules

Re: Should the Rams target a defensive tackle in free agency?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richbert88

I like the Okoye idea. Coefield is my initial choice.

I like the idea of 'stressing' the opposing OL and QB. This helps the second level of defense. Much like 'stressing' the defense in McD's initial statements.

And lets add Fletcher's name to the decent players at the second level.

Fletcher will be our best corner this year I would say. He had four interceptions last year to bartells 0.

-07-25-2011

TekeRam

Re: Should the Rams target a defensive tackle in free agency?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjacksonrules

Fletcher will be our best corner this year I would say. He had four interceptions last year to bartells 0.

Turnovers are great, but being consistently good at defending the reciever and not allowing them to make a catch or at least forcing them to take short yardage that leads to 4th downs are much more important in my book. Bartell is that to a T.

-07-25-2011

ZiaRam

Re: Should the Rams target a defensive tackle in free agency?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sjacksonrules

Fletcher will be our best corner this year I would say. He had four interceptions last year to bartells 0.

And stone hands Bartell better get a couple of picks this year! He had a couple of EASY picks last year and dropped em!

-07-25-2011

HUbison

Re: Should the Rams target a defensive tackle in free agency?

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZiaRam

And stone hands Bartell better get a couple of picks this year! He had a couple of EASY picks last year and dropped em!

It's like the old saying goes........if they could catch, they'd be wide receivers.